Beyond the Pale

I denne study guide kan du få hjælp til at analysere novellen "Beyond the Pale" af Rudyard Kipling. Udover analysehjælpen kan du finde et summary af teksten samt idéer til fortolkning og perspektivering.

Præsentation af teksten

Titel: “Beyond the Pale” (1888)
Forfatter: Rudyard Kipling
Genre: Short story

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) var en britisk forfatter og digter, som blev født i Indien. Mange af Kiplings værker er inspireret af Indien, som under hans levetid var en britisk koloni. Det gælder fx hans kendte børnebog The Jungle Book (1894).

Novellen "Beyond the Pale" blev oprindeligt udgivet i Kiplings novellesamling Plain Tales from the Hills.

Uddrag

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Title

The title of Rudyard Kipling’s short story, “Beyond the Pale” is intriguing to readers because it does not reveal much about the plot. The phrase typically refers to behavior which is not acceptable according to social norms. This meaning is conveyed from the first lines of the story, which mention the Englishman “wilfully stepped beyond the safe limits of decent every-day society, and paid for it heavily” (ll. 9-10). Consequently, the title becomes symbolic of the Englishman Trejago’s relationship with the Indian Bisesa. According to the rules of the times, their love is forbidden. The end of the story shows the consequences of when people act against social norms, as Bisesa loses her hands, and Trejago is stabbed. This idea is also announced in the beginning of the story as a warning: “A man should, whatever happens, keep to his own caste, race and breed. Let the White go to the White and the Black to the Black.” (ll. 5-6)